He stayed as long as he could, and would’ve liked to stay even longer. But Henrik Zetterberg knew for a while this day was coming, and when the Red Wings opened training camp Friday, he did something rare for him. He finally stopped pushing.
His degenerative back condition started aching again in January, so he couldn’t practice anymore. But even as the Wings struggled through a rough rebuild, Zetterberg pushed on, playing all 82 games — remarkably, all 82 games the past three seasons — as reality beckoned with every wince.
When Steve Yzerman retired, we said there’d never be another leader like him.